Ezekiel 29:1-21 Against Egypt
It is not surprising that God gives a prophecy against Egypt. Egypt will have and ‘exile’ period just like Judah did. Their pride and broken promises are their greatest sins.
Ezekiel starts this prophecy by fixing it with a date. We aren’t told where the ‘anchor point’ for the date is. I think it’s most likely point is when the first captives were taken to Babylon when Jehoiakim was taken prisoner by Nebuchadnezzar. It could also be when Zedekiah was placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar. If it was the second, it was only months before Jerusalem’s fall that Ezekiel received this prophecy.
God’s first accusation against Egypt is that they were arrogant. Thinking THEY made the Nile River and that it was for THEIR use only. They certainly used its power and consistency to their advantage but they DID NOT make it. They traded along it, used it to provide water for crops and human consumption, and used it to extend their reach throughout the region.
The vision of the fish of the Nile and its tributaries sticking to the skin of the great representative of the people is hard for me to bring into focus. I imagine the visual would be a MASS of fish clinging to a central point and hanging in a HUGE clump. That image would put the enormous catch Jesus gave His disciples to shame, maybe. The point of the image though is removing the inhabitants from their source of life. They would be drawn out of Egypt and scattered into other nations.
God tells Ezekiel that they would be removed from their land for 40 years. And that no foot of man or beast would cross their land. History tells us that this hasn’t happened, YET. I don’t know if it was figurative language God was using or an explicit prophecy. Babylon ruled Egypt for a little over 40 years. Could it have been this that the 40 years was alluding to or is there still a time to come?
There was a time when Egypt was uninhabitable. The Nile was choked and had to be cleaned out to restore the land. Is this maybe what the great monster was referring to? Today, the Nile is in trouble on two fronts. Rising oceans are bringing saltwater into its banks and Ethiopia is building a massive dam to restrict its flow. Egypt is struggling with the water level also decreasing. I don’t know if this will lead to the 40 years God spoke of or not. It’s HIS decision! I put it all in His hands.
God’s second charge against Egypt is their ‘wishy-washy’ support of Judah. Judah made an alliance with Egypt thinking that they would give their full support when called upon. Instead, Egypt offered little or no support when Nebuchadnezzar came. Egypt couldn’t stand up to Nebuchadnezzar. NO nation could! God was using Nebuchadnezzar as His instrument of judgment. God told Israel not to rely on Egypt from the day they left on their journey to the Promised Land. He was not about to bless this blatant disregard for His instructions. Judah would bear the punishment for it as well as Egypt.
In the last section of our reading, God gives Nebuchadnezzar Egypt as his ‘payment’ for the work God called him to do. This prophecy is 26 ½ years later than the first one for today. This was plenty of time for God to use Nebuchadnezzar in all of His work, including 13 years of besieging Tyre. Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t the one who would complete God’s promise of destruction of Tyre but he did bring them under Babylonian rule. History tells us that the wealthy inhabitants of Tyre relocated their wealth to the island fortress before surrendering to Nebuchadnezzar, thereby removing the spoils he would have claimed from his campaign. God promised, through Ezekiel’s prophecy, to give Nebuchadnezzar the spoils of Egypt instead. To make up for what he didn’t get from Tyre.
God KNEW what would happen in Tyre before He set Nebuchadnezzar at their gates. Is it possible that God gave Ezekiel this word before Nebuchadnezzar even finished his siege? Did Ezekiel tell the other nations these prophecies? Did he share them with the other exiles? Or did he simply write them in a ‘book’ for others to read? I would think he had to share them with someone at the time they happened in order to validate the times quoted. It would be a simple matter to back date something in a book. God would NOT let Ezekiel’s words that HE gave him be disputed or dismissed. Ezekiel knew things from hundreds of miles away as they were happening or beforehand. No MAN can do that. Only God could have shown him these things.
Father God, Your knowledge is above question. You KNOW the rising and setting of the sun. You know the rise and fall of rulers and their nations. You even know the very number of hairs on my head! Along with the number of hairs of everyone else!!! Do you record it and update it or just look down and say, “Hm, 72 fewer today.”
You also KNOW the plans You have for my life. Plans that You haven’t fully revealed to me; or I at least haven’t grasped their meaning. I trust You to complete what You set out for me as surely as You did with Nebuchadnezzar. I am a willing instrument. I don’t think he even believed in You. Did he change his mind by the time his work was done? Did he listen to Ezekiel’s prophecies? I look forward to seeing where You take me. And I remember a couple of prophecies you spoke through others over my life. Help me to always walk in Your ways.
